Law Officers' Department

John Denham: To ask the Attorney-General what the annual value is of the Law Officers Department, current contracts in each sector in which contracts are held.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has contracts and framework agreements in place across all major sectors of expenditure in respect of goods and services. It is estimated that over 90% of the Department's expenditure on goods and services is committed via these agreements. The remaining expenditure is made through ad hoc contracts and purchases made via high street and online retailers.
	The total expenditure in each sector during 2010-11 was:
	
		
			  £ 
			 ICT 62,006,621 
			 Facilities management 15,586,486 
			 Post and courier 5,755,393 
			 Interpreters, transcriptions and translations 5,366,615 
			 Reprographics and printing 4,476,972 
			 Professional services 3,693,460 
			 Travel, hotels and conference hire 3,256,913 
			 Stationery 3,009,632 
			 Publications and subscriptions 2,746,963 
			 Training 2,008,392 
			 Utilities 1,748,629 
			 Case presentational equipment 1,736,614 
			 Agency staff 1,714,121 
			 File storage 1,173,088 
			 Non-capital equipment 532,329 
			 Publicity and media 262,746 
			 Confiscation expenses 233,887 
			 Recruitment services 150,347 
		
	
	The value of the Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol) expenditure by major category is disclosed each year in HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor Resource Accounts. These figures also include expenditure by the Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. The Department's best estimate is that 85-90% of its expenditure is under contract.
	The departmental administration expenditure figures for 2010-11 are shown at page 60 in the 2010-11 Resource Accounts HC 967 a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. The main items, excluding property leases, are:
	
		
			 Sector Expenditure (£000) 
			 Accommodation 2,027 
			 Library information services 1.545 
			 Rates 1,407 
			 IT maintenance and consumables 1.068 
			 Professional programme and technical services 794 
			 Training 547 
			 Communications 461 
			 Travel and subsistence 388 
			 Accommodation maintenance 388 
			 Records management 294 
			 Utilities and cleaning 268 
			 Publications 258 
			 Postal services 254 
			 Recruitment 228 
			 Stationery 223 
			 Office machines and consumables 212 
			 Subscription fees 110 
			 Shared Service feasibility 142 
			 IT network services 124 
			 External HR services 119 
			 Welfare supplies and consumables 114 
			 Translation costs 114 
			 Internal Audit 88 
		
	
	Additionally TSol makes payments of disbursements, including counsel fees, under contract. The Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure (page 48 of 2010-11 Resource Accounts) shows 2010-11 disbursement costs as £32.2 million. Disbursement costs incurred on behalf of clients are recovered from clients.
	The Serious Fraud Office has framework agreements and contracts in place for all major sectors of expenditure in respect of goods and services. Over 90% of expenditure is committed via these contracts. The remaining expenditure is made via ad hoc contracts and one-off ‘spot’ purchases via high street and online retailers at all times seeking to deliver the best value of money. The total expenditure by the Serious Fraud Office in each sector during 2010-11 is outlined in the following table:
	
		
			 Sector Expenditure (£) 
			 ICT 4,838,047 
			 Facilities management 4,997,496 
			 Post and courier 129,212 
			 Interpreters, translations and transcriptions 292,851 
			 Reprographics and printing 69,296 
			 Professional services 252,632 
			 Travel, hotels and conference hire 484,542 
			 Stationery 100,238 
			 Publications and subscriptions 92,123 
			 Training 221,268 
			 Utilities 227,932 
			 Agency staff 3,706,797 
			 File storage 165,922 
			 Publicity and media 28,275 
			 Recruitment 14,778

Commodity Markets

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the (a) costs and (b) benefits to the financial services sector of (i) exchange trading of commodity derivatives and (ii) position limits for non-commercial participants in commodity derivatives markets.

Mark Hoban: The Government have no plans to assess costs and benefits to the financial services sector of exchange trading of commodities. However the Government believe that trading in commodities markets plays an important role in providing liquidity (the volume of trades being made in a market) in these markets and that liquidity is essential to the effective functioning of these markets. Against the backdrop of climate change, and the possibility that international agricultural prices may become more volatile over time, the role of agricultural futures and options markets, and the liquidity they rely on, become more important.
	The recent advice given by the Committee of European Securities Regulators (now European Securities and Markets Authority) to the European Commission in October 2010 provides a thorough assessment of the costs and benefits of position limits as part of the regulatory framework for commodity derivatives. This advice can be found here:
	http://www.esma.europa.eu/index.php?page=document_ details&from_title=Documents&id=7279
	(Section IV, Question 12)
	Consistent with this advice, the Government believe that the authority to set position limits would appropriately be a part of a position management regime, though not the leading element. Position limits by their nature are inflexible tools, and the Government are sceptical that such measures would be effective in reducing the presence of a particular participant type in the market, or would be an effective too! to address price volatility.

Public Sector: Pensions

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the public purse was of public sector pensions in each year since 1997.

Danny Alexander: Expenditure on unfunded central and local government pensions since 1997 has been published in the Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis. This covers expenditure in the central unfunded public service schemes, but not the locally administered police and firefighters' pension schemes or the funded Local Government Pension Scheme. This information is shown is shown in nominal terms in the following table:
	
		
			  Expenditure (£ million) 
			 2001 14,773 
			 2002 16,518 
			 2003 16,080 
			 2004 16,377 
			 2005 17,641 
			 2006 19,080 
			 2007 21,356 
			 2008 22,525 
			 2009 24,350 
			 2010 25,875 
		
	
	PESA.2011 is available online at the following address:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pespub_pesa_July11_natstats.htm
	Estimates of expenditure on a national accounts basis are also published by the Office for National Statistics in the Blue Book and by the Office for Budget Responsibility in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
	Employer contributions paid into for the funded Local Government Pension Scheme in England since 1999 are presented in chapter 7 of the Local Government Financial Statistics England 2010. These are shown in nominal terms in the following table and the full document is available online at the following address:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/financialstatistics202010
	
		
			  Employer contributions (£ million) 
			 1999-2000 2,273 
			 2000-01 2,617 
			 2001-02 2,916 
			 2002-03 3,217 
			 2003-04 3,544 
			 2004-05 4,124 
			 2005-06 4,626 
			 2006-07 5,009 
			 2007-08 5,400 
			 2008-09 5,759

Children and Families Ministerial Taskforce

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what work has been undertaken by the Childhood and Families Taskforce to date; and what meetings the Taskforce has convened since it was established;
	(2)  who the (a) members of and (b) contributors to the Childhood and Families Taskforce are.

Sarah Teather: The Prime Minister set up the Childhood and Families Task Force to ensure policies across different departments come together to tackle some of the major obstacles to a happy childhood and a successful family life.
	The Childhood and Families Task Force is chaired by the Prime Minister and comprises: the Deputy Prime Minister; the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Duncan Smith); the Minister for Children and Families (Sarah Teather); the Minister for Universities and Science (Mr Willetts); the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Justine Greening); and the Under-Secretary of State for Public Health (Anne Milton).
	Since the Childhood and Families Task Force was established, there have been regular ministerial meetings and it has overseen a range of activities led by the Departments that are members of the group, including: Reg Bailey's review of the Commercialisation and Sexualisation of Children; the hon. Member for Nottingham North (Mr Allen)’s Review of Early Intervention; the Modem Workplaces consultation; the £30 million dedicated fund for relationship support; the Family Justice Review; and Action to meet the ambition to turn around the lives of families with multiple problems.

Children in Care: Adoption

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to increase the likelihood of children in care being adopted into stable families.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 19 July 2011
	I am determined to see more children in care adopted, where this is in their best interests and the best possible support given to adoptive families to help ensure the success and permanence of adoptions. I want to see more children considered for adoption who in the past may have been overlooked—children who are older or have disabilities or very complex needs. I particularly want local authorities to consider carefully their matching and placement practice in respect of black and minority ethnic children who often wait much longer than others.
	That is why I have recently appointed Martin Narey, former chief executive of Barnardo's, as Ministerial Adviser on Adoption. He will visit individual local authorities to identify and share good practice, and challenge poorer practices, especially for those children who are often overlooked for adoption—older children, disabled children—or who can face significant delay, such as black children. I have published his full remit on the Department for Education website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/families/adoption/a00192226/martin-narey-appointed-as-ministerial-adviser-on-adoption
	I set up last year a ministerial advisory group on adoption to help steer my wider programme of reform. In November I wrote to directors of children's services and lead members emphasising the importance of adoption and of reducing delays in the adoption process. I subsequently published revised statutory adoption guidance, and an Adoption Data Pack which highlights the variations between local authorities. I have also hosted a number of roundtable events with adoptive parents, adopted children, judges, directors of children's services and adoption panels to take their views about where change is needed.
	The Department also provides grant funding to BAAF to promote adoption, including through National Adoption Week and National Exchange Days, and to the Coram Foundation and Barnardo's to support local authorities in improving their adoption outcomes. I have also approved funding to extend the Multi-dimensional Treatment Foster Care programme (an evidence-based intervention programme for children in care) to adopted children and families.
	All of this is within the wider context of the work the Government are undertaking to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families. This includes action following the Munro Review of Child Protection and the work of the Family Justice Review.

Departmental Buildings

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the address is of each office property occupied by his Department outside Greater London which it (a) owns and (b) rents; what the level of utilisation is of each such property; what the capital value is of each such property it owns; and what the (i) annual rental cost and (ii) length of lease agreement is of each rented property.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education occupies three office properties outside of Greater London. The details of which are listed in the following table:
	
		
			 Property name Address Value (£) 
			 Castle View House East Lane, Runcorn, WA7 2DB 7,500,000 
			 Mowden Hall Staindrop Road, Darlington, DL3 9BG 2,835,000 
			 2 St Paul's Place 125 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 2FL 22,390,000 
		
	
	The Mowden Hall site in Darlington and the Castle View House site in Runcorn are freehold properties owned by the Department. The St Paul's Place building in Sheffield is also owned by the Department, but the ground lease is not and the Department pays a 'peppercorn' rent, which runs until September 2259. Both the Mowden Hall site and the St Paul's Place facility are fully occupied. The Castle View House site is currently 73% utilised with the remaining space is being actively marketed to the public and private sector both commercially and through the Government Property Unit.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the carbon dioxide emissions from his Department in (a) June 2010 and (b) June 2011.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education’s carbon emission were as follows:
	(a) In June 2010, the Department emitted 694 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
	(b) In June 2011, the Department emitted 576 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
	This data comprises energy use from the Department’s four headquarter buildings and business travel data. Travel data for June 2011 has been estimated based on 2010 emission levels.
	The Department has exceeded the Prime Minister’s target of reducing carbon emissions by 10%, achieving a reduction of 21.5%, and is now focused on Government’s further agenda to reduce carbon emissions by 25% by 2015.

Departmental E-mail

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance he has issued to officials of his Department on the use of email accounts not supported by his Government's IT system to communicate with (a) schools considering academy status and (b) individuals, groups, charities, businesses and other bodies applying to establish free schools.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 19 July 2011
	The guidance issued to staff in the Department for Education on the use of personal, non-DFE e-mail accounts for communications relating to their official duties (irrespective of the individual or organisation being communicated with) is as follows:
	‘Never use non-DfE email services (such as your own personal internet email account on Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL, MobileMe, etc.) to carry out Departmental business.'
	A more detailed extract from this guidance for DFE staff, covering the salient points, is as follows:
	Annex
	Essential steps to protect information in DFE
	Use only official DFE ICT systems, services and devices to access or store DFE information
	Official DFE ICT (Information and Communications Technology), computing and telephony services, systems and devices, have been configured, risk assessed, and tested to ensure they are secure enough for Departmental business. Official DFE mobile devices (Laptops and BlackBerry's) have HM Government approved strong encryption enabled.
	You should therefore:
	Never use non-DFE devices (such as your own laptop, PC, Mac, PDA or memory stick) to access or store DFE Information.
	Never use non-DFE e-mail services (such as your own personal internet e-mail account on Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL, MobileMe, etc.) to carry out departmental business.
	Never set your 'Out of Office' message or e-mail forwarding rules to direct official e-mail to your personal internet e-mail account.
	If you have a compelling requirement to conduct DFE business when away from the office, but do not already have the appropriate DFE remote working tools to support this, talk to your line manager about making the business case.
	Why is this so important?
	The loss or compromise of personal or otherwise sensitive information that has not been adequately protected can have serious consequences including:
	Financial loss, disruption to the work of the Department, or distress to citizens or staff;
	Damage to DFE's reputation which could in turn lead to loss of public confidence in the services of our Department or of Government as a whole;
	Breach of the Data Protection Act, which could lead to public censure of the Department by the Information Commissioner, whose statutory powers also include the right to impose fines on the Department of up to £500,000.
	Use of unapproved ICT systems, services and devices could also put in jeopardy the Department's continued right to use the Government Secure Intranet (GSI) which we rely on for secure intra-government e-mail and data sharing.
	As well as breaching security rules the use of unapproved ICT systems, services and devices to conduct Government business also creates Information Management issues. For example: information not held on DFE ICT systems would not be searched when responding to a Freedom of Information (FOI) Request.

Departmental Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many procurement contracts his Department has awarded to small businesses since May 2010.

Tim Loughton: To get the information on how many procurement contracts were awarded by the Department for Education to small and medium-sized enterprises since May 2010 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, I can tell you that under the transparency agenda, since January 2011, the Department for Education has reported 43 separate contracts awarded, 27 of which were to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Departmental Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department have been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since the website's inception.

Tim Loughton: The Department does not maintain a central record of those contracts that haven't been advertised, for example contracts that have been let following a call off from a framework agreement. To include those contracts in the calculation of the proportion of contracts advertised on Contracts Finder could be done only at disproportionate costs.
	However, of the 23 contracts that have been advertised since 1 January 2011, 11 or 48% have been advertised on Contracts Finder.

Further Education: Finance

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much has been allocated for 16 to 19 bursaries in each local authority area for 2011-12.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 18 July  2011 
	This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the Education Maintenance Allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener, the YPLA's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member for Westminster North (Ms Buck) with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Peter Lauener, dated 18 July 2011
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Questions PQ66836 and PQ66837 that ask:
	"How much has been allocated for the education maintenance allowance replacement bursaries in each local authority area for 2011-12." PQ66836
	"How much has been allocated from the education maintenance allowance replacement bursary fund to each school and college in London for 2011-12." PQ66837
	We are still finalising the bursary allocations for the academic year 2011/12 for individual schools, colleges and other education and training providers and we are therefore not yet able to provide the information you have requested. We intend to publish the bursary allocations shortly and I will write to you with the details asked for as soon as possible.

History: GCSE

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils in mainstream maintained secondary schools were entered for history GCSE in each local authority area in 2010.

Nick Gibb: The requested information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 GCSE history entries in all mainstream maintained schools by local authority, 2010 
			   Pupils who were entered for GCSE history in 2010 
			 Local authority Number of pupils on roll in the local authority at the end of key stage 4 Number Percentage 
			 North East 28,849 7,848 27.2 
			 Darlington 1,142 247 21.6 
			 Durham 5,351 1,358 25.4 
			 Gateshead 2,084 624 29.9 
			 Hartlepool 1,224 405 33.1 
			 Middlesbrough 1,644 402 24.5 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 2,484 484 19.5 
			 North Tyneside 2,090 758 36.3 
			 Northumberland 3,544 981 27.7 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 1,926 564 29.3 
			 South Tyneside 1,715 416 24.3 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 2,266 738 32.6 
			 Sunderland 3,379 871 25.8 
			     
			 North West 80,462 22,850 28.4 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 1,725 491 28.5 
			 Blackpool 1,575 398 25.3 
			 Bolton 3,499 930 26.6 
			 Bury 2,216 640 28.9 
			 Cheshire East 3,922 1,390 35.4 
			 Cheshire West and Chester 3,938 1,183 30.0 
			 Cumbria 6,064 2,070 34.1 
			 Halton 1,498 414 27.6 
			 Knowsley 1,601 269 16.8 
			 Lancashire 13,218 3,782 28.6 
			 Liverpool 4,989 1,479 29.6 
			 Manchester 4,415 919 20.8 
			 Oldham 2,977 671 22.5 
			 Rochdale 2,520 692 27.5 
			 Salford 2,140 564 26.4 
			 Sefton 3,293 922 28.0 
			 St Helens 1,983 409 20.6 
			 Stockport 2,973 798 26.8 
			 Tameside 2,881 635 22.0 
			 Trafford 2,825 1,029 36.4 
			 Warrington 2,489 976 39.2 
			 Wigan 3,810 911 23.9 
			 Wirral 3,911 1,278 32.7 
			     
			 Yorkshire and Humber 59,396 16,984 28.6 
			 Barnsley 2,547 703 27.6 
			 Bradford 5,783 1,244 21.5 
			 Calderdale 2,593 884 34.1 
		
	
	
		
			 Doncaster 3,551 1,024 28.8 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 3,940 1,532 38.9 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 2,739 603 22.0 
			 Kirklees 4,534 1,259 27.8 
			 Leeds 8,063 2,472 30.7 
			 North East Lincolnshire 1,979 441 22.3 
			 North Lincolnshire 2,009 448 22.3 
			 North Yorkshire 6,862 2,436 35.5 
			 Rotherham 3,588 838 23.4 
			 Sheffield 5,514 1,539 27.9 
			 Wakefield 3,954 944 23.9 
			 York 1,740 617 35.5 
			     
			 East Midlands 51,064 14,615 28.6 
			 Derby 2,839 626 22.1 
			 Derbyshire 8,694 2,622 30.2 
			 Leicester 3,457 782 22.6 
			 Leicestershire 7,380 1,587 21.5 
			 Lincolnshire 8,508 2,751 32.3 
			 Northamptonshire 7,871 2,472 31.4 
			 Nottingham 2,711 610 22.5 
			 Nottinghamshire 9,112 2,930 32.2 
			 Rutland 492 235 47.8 
			     
			 West Midlands 63,495 19,198 30.2 
			 Birmingham 11,984 3,538 29.5 
			 Coventry 3,545 818 23.1 
			 Dudley 3,883 1,210 31.2 
			 Herefordshire 1,898 746 39.3 
			 Sandwell 3,521 767 21.8 
			 Shropshire 3,256 1,052 32.3 
			 Solihull 3,039 886 29.2 
			 Staffordshire 9,569 3,253 34.0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 2,538 661 26.0 
			 Telford and Wrekin 2,091 620 29.7 
			 Walsall 3,548 900 25.4 
			 Warwickshire 6,013 2,175 36.2 
			 Wolverhampton 2,671 637 23.8 
			 Worcestershire 5,939 1,935 32.6 
			     
			 East of England 64,657 22,728 35.2 
			 Bedford 1,803 449 24.9 
			 Bedfordshire, Central 2,930 1,002 34.2 
			 Cambridgeshire 5,977 2,363 39.5 
			 Essex 15,991 5,279 33.0 
			 Hertfordshire 12,805 4,988 39.0 
			 Luton 2,357 786 33.3 
		
	
	
		
			 Norfolk 8,962 3,170 35.4 
			 Peterborough 2,214 751 33.9 
			 Southend-on-Sea 2,179 734 33.7 
			 Suffolk 7,666 2,752 35.9 
			 Thurrock 1,773 454 25.6 
			     
			 London 73,063 23,397 32.0 
			 Inner London 22,556 6,125 27.2 
			 Camden 1,470 472 32.1 
			 Hackney 1,286 346 26.9 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,006 442 43.9 
			 Haringey 2,105 524 24.9 
			 Islington 1,382 359 26.0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 548 217 39.6 
			 Lambeth 1,550 418 27.0 
			 Lewisham 2,123 674 31.7 
			 Newham 3,330 519 15.6 
			 Southwark 2,269 669 29.5 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,393 480 20.1 
			 Wandsworth 1,754 555 31.6 
			 Westminster 1,340 450 33.6 
			 Outer London 50,507 17,272 34.2 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,108 587 27.8 
			 Barnet 3,355 1,376 41.0 
			 Bexley 3,213 1,309 40.7 
			 Brent 2,803 733 26.2 
			 Bromley 3,358 1,252 37.3 
			 Croydon 3,631 1,084 29.9 
			 Ealing 2,802 931 33.2 
			 Enfield 3,583 1,280 35.7 
			 Greenwich 2,261 643 28.4 
			 Harrow 2,138 733 34.3 
			 Havering 3,057 1,102 36.0 
			 Hillingdon 2,990 829 27.7 
			 Hounslow 2,611 982 37.6 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,433 536 37.4 
			 Merton 1,533 427 27.9 
			 Redbridge 3,174 1,090 34.3 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,317 598 45.4 
			 Sutton 2,610 1,044 40.0 
			 Waltham Forest 2,530 736 29.1 
			     
			 South East 89,266 30,413 34.1 
			 Bracknell Forest 1,087 513 47.2 
			 Brighton and Hove 2,299 658 28.6 
			 Buckinghamshire 5,619 2,208 39.3 
			 East Sussex 5,311 1,556 29.3 
		
	
	
		
			 Hampshire 13,937 4,961 35.6 
			 Isle of Wight 1,522 526 34.6 
			 Kent 16,490 5,095 30.9 
			 Medway 3,368 955 28.4 
			 Milton Keynes 2,694 734 27.2 
			 Oxfordshire 6,284 2,411 38.4 
			 Portsmouth 1,867 598 32.0 
			 Reading 972 372 38.3 
			 Slough 1,545 455 29.4 
			 Southampton 2,058 528 25.7 
			 Surrey 10,529 3,649 34.7 
			 West Berkshire 1,965 814 41.4 
			 West Sussex 8,393 2,988 35.6 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 1,511 594 39.3 
			 Wokingham 1,815 798 44.0 
			     
			 South West 56,070 17,746 31.6 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 2,211 760 34.4 
			 Bournemouth 1,743 439 25.2 
			 Bristol, City of 2,924 653 22.3 
			 Cornwall 5,851 1,644 28.1 
			 Devon 7,621 2,120 27.8 
			 Dorset 4,328 1,481 34.2 
			 Gloucestershire 6,867 2,381 34.7 
			 Isles of Scilly 22 4 18.2 
			 North Somerset 2,250 808 35.9 
			 Plymouth 2,934 843 28.7 
			 Poole 1,659 642 38.7 
			 Somerset 5,674 2,098 37.0 
			 South Gloucestershire 3,159 1,025 32.4 
			 Swindon 2,170 686 31.6 
			 Torbay 1,493 517 34.6 
			 Wiltshire 5,164 1,645 31.9 
			 Total: England 566,322 175,779 31.0 
			 Notes: 1. The figures are for pupils at the end of key stage 4. 2. The figures cover all mainstream maintained schools, including academies and CTCs. 3. The figures are derived from data collected for the performance tables.

History: GCSE

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils obtained a grade C or above in history GCSE in each local authority area in 2010.

Nick Gibb: The requested information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 GCSE History achievements in all maintained schools by local authority, 2010 
			 Local authority Number of pupils who were entered for GCSE History in 2010 Number of pupils who achieved a grade C or above in GCSE History in 2010 Percentage of pupils who were entered for, and achieved a grade C or above in GCSE History in 2010 
			 North East 7,873 5,067 64.4 
			 Darlington 247 158 64.0 
			 Durham 1,373 893 65.0 
			 Gateshead 627 417 66.5 
			 Hartlepool 405 250 61.7 
			 Middlesbrough 402 236 58.7 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 484 332 68.6 
			 North Tyneside 758 490 64.6 
			 Northumberland 981 678 69.1 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 564 389 69.0 
			 South Tyneside 419 255 60.9 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 738 440 59.6 
			 Sunderland 875 529 60.5 
			     
			 North West 22,863 15,176 66.4 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 491 274 55.8 
			 Blackpool 398 208 52.3 
			 Bolton 930 597 64.2 
			 Bury 640 456 71.3 
			 Cheshire East 1,390 1,027 73.9 
			 Cheshire West and Chester 1,190 796 66.9 
			 Cumbria 2,070 1,384 66.9 
			 Halton 414 276 66.7 
			 Knowsley 269 134 49.8 
			 Lancashire 3,783 2,608 68.9 
			 Liverpool 1,479 930 62.9 
			 Manchester 919 484 52.7 
			 Oldham 671 399 59.5 
			 Rochdale 692 398 57.5 
			 Salford 568 309 54.4 
			 Sefton 922 628 68.1 
			 St Helens 409 261 63.8 
			 Stockport 798 561 70.3 
			 Tameside 635 368 58.0 
			 Trafford 1,029 865 84.1 
			 Warrington 976 695 71.2 
			 Wigan 911 600 65.9 
			 Wirral 1,279 918 71.8 
			     
			 Yorkshire and Humber 16,992 10,830 63.7 
			 Barnsley 703 368 52.3 
			 Bradford 1,244 759 61.0 
			 Calderdale 884 593 67.1 
			 Doncaster 1,024 545 53.2 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 1,532 964 62.9 
		
	
	
		
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 603 288 47.8 
			 Kirklees 1,259 768 61.0 
			 Leeds 2,479 1,654 66.7 
			 North East Lincolnshire 441 293 66.4 
			 North Lincolnshire 448 261 58.3 
			 North Yorkshire 2,437 1,819 74.6 
			 Rotherham 838 572 68.3 
			 Sheffield 1,539 947 61.5 
			 Wakefield 944 586 62.1 
			 York 617 413 66.9 
			     
			 East Midlands 14,624 9,372 64.1 
			 Derby 626 445 71.1 
			 Derbyshire 2,622 1,744 66.5 
			 Leicester 782 500 63.9 
			 Leicestershire 1,587 958 60.4 
			 Lincolnshire 2,760 1,890 68.5 
			 Northamptonshire 2,472 1,497 60.6 
			 Nottingham 610 355 58.2 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,930 1,824 62.3 
			 Rutland 235 159 67.7 
			     
			 West Midlands 19,217 12,321 64.1 
			 Birmingham 3,549 2,406 67.8 
			 Coventry 818 526 64.3 
			 Dudley 1,210 720 59.5 
			 Herefordshire 746 499 66.9 
			 Sandwell 767 421 54.9 
			 Shropshire 1,052 699 66.4 
			 Solihull 886 618 69.8 
			 Staffordshire 3,254 1,988 61.1 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 661 368 55.7 
			 Telford and Wrekin 620 393 63.4 
			 Walsall 900 568 63.1 
			 Warwickshire 2,182 1,382 63.3 
			 Wolverhampton 637 389 61.1 
			 Worcestershire 1,935 1,344 69.5 
			     
			 East of England 22,741 15,254 67.1 
			 Bedford 449 288 64.1 
			 Bedfordshire, Central 1,002 617 61.6 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,363 1,724 73.0 
			 Essex 5,283 3,389 64.1 
			 Hertfordshire 4,994 3,757 75.2 
			 Luton 786 441 56.1 
		
	
	
		
			 Norfolk 3,172 2,020 63.7 
			 Peterborough 751 458 61.0 
			 Southend-on-Sea 735 589 80.1 
			 Suffolk 2,752 1,676 60.9 
			 Thurrock 454 295 65.0 
			     
			 London 23,405 16,129 68.9 
			 Inner London 6,126 3,976 64.9 
			 Camden 472 322 68.2 
			 Hackney 346 246 71.1 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 442 359 81.2 
			 Haringey 524 378 72.1 
			 Islington 359 182 50.7 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 217 182 83.9 
			 Lambeth 418 258 61.7 
			 Lewisham 674 389 57.7 
			 Newham 519 320 61.7 
			 Southwark 669 383 57.2 
			 Tower Hamlets 480 281 58.5 
			 Wandsworth 556 364 65.5 
			 Westminster 450 312 69.3 
			     
			 Outer London 17,279 12,153 70.3 
			 Barking and Dagenham 587 353 60.1 
			 Barnet 1,376 1,050 76.3 
			 Bexley 1,309 863 65.9 
			 Brent 733 522 71.2 
			 Bromley 1,253 952 76.0 
			 Croydon 1,084 704 64.9 
			 Ealing 931 619 66.5 
			 Enfield 1,280 874 68.3 
			 Greenwich 643 405 63.0 
			 Harrow 733 516 70.4 
			 Havering 1,102 771 70.0 
			 Hillingdon 829 541 65.3 
			 Hounslow 982 699 71.2 
			 Kingston upon Thames 536 436 81.3 
			 Merton 427 266 62.3 
			 Redbridge 1,090 819 75.1 
			 Richmond upon Thames 598 428 71.6 
			 Sutton 1,044 887 85.0 
			 Waltham Forest 742 448 60.4 
			     
			 South East 30,439 20,970 68.9 
			 Bracknell Forest 513 339 66.1 
		
	
	
		
			 Brighton and Hove 658 455 69.1 
			 Buckinghamshire 2,208 1,714 77.6 
			 East Sussex 1,558 1,085 69.6 
			 Hampshire 4,977 3,444 69.2 
			 Isle of Wight 526 285 54.2 
			 Kent 5,095 3,599 70.6 
			 Medway 955 587 61.5 
			 Milton Keynes 736 448 60.9 
			 Oxfordshire 2,411 1,625 67.4 
			 Portsmouth 598 329 55.0 
			 Reading 372 236 63.4 
			 Slough 455 324 71.2 
			 Southampton 528 307 58.1 
			 Surrey 3,649 2,639 72.3 
			 West Berkshire 814 606 74.4 
			 West Sussex 2,994 1,966 65.7 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 594 395 66.5 
			 Wokingham 798 587 73.6 
			     
			 South West 17,756 11,991 67.5 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 761 547 71.9 
			 Bournemouth 439 313 71.3 
			 Bristol, City of 654 415 63.5 
			 Cornwall 1,644 1,041 63.3 
			 Devon 2,120 1,371 64.7 
		
	
	
		
			 Dorset 1,481 1,077 72.7 
			 Gloucestershire 2,381 1,799 75.6 
			 Isles of Scilly 4 3 75.0 
			 North Somerset 808 510 63.1 
			 Plymouth 843 545 64.7 
			 Poole 642 429 66.8 
			 Somerset 2,098 1,347 64.2 
			 South Gloucestershire 1,025 631 61.6 
			 Swindon 686 398 58.0 
			 Torbay 517 412 79.7 
			 Wiltshire 1,653 1,153 69.8 
			     
			 Total—England 175,910 117,110 66.6 
			 Notes: 1. The figures are for pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. 2. The figures cover all maintained schools, including Academies and CTCs. 3. The figures are derived from data collected for the Performance tables.

History: GCSE

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many mainstream comprehensive schools entered (a) no pupils, (b) fewer than five per cent. of pupils, (c) fewer than 10 per cent. of pupils and (d) fewer than 25 per cent. of pupils for GCSE history examinations in 2010. [Official Report, 15 September 2011, Vol. 532, c. 11MC.]

Nick Gibb: 2,734 schools have been identified as being mainstream comprehensive.
	All of these schools entered pupils for GCSE history
	17 had fewer than 5% of pupils entered for GCSE history
	139 had fewer than 10% entered for GCSE history
	1,031 schools had fewer than 25% of pupils entered for GCSE history in 2010.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to increase sexual awareness among pupils in schools.

Nick Gibb: The Government believes that it is important for pupils to have access to high-quality, age-appropriate sex and relationships education (SRE). Schools have a clear role in reinforcing the information that young people receive from parents and in providing them with a safe and supportive environment in which to develop the knowledge they need to make wise and informed choices. SRE is compulsory in secondary schools, and primary schools may also choose to provide it. All schools must have an agreed policy on sex education.
	In the Schools White Paper, “The Importance of Teaching”, we announced our intention to conduct an internal review of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, including SRE, so that we can determine how to support schools to improve the quality of teaching in this often sensitive and challenging area. We are still considering the scope and process of the review, but we will say more about this shortly.

Play

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what plans he has for the future of the Play Strategy issued by his Department's predecessor in 2008;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure adequate provision of play facilities (a) in urban and deprived areas and (b) elsewhere;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision of play facilities in each local authority area.

Sarah Teather: The Government recognises how important it is that children have safe, free local places to play, and the benefits these places bring to the wider community more generally. However, it is not for central Government to determine what play facilities are available in local areas, or to tell the experts in the play sector how to deliver play provision. Children, parents, play professionals and local communities best know what is most needed in their local areas.
	The play capital programme finished at the end of March 2011, as originally intended under the previous Government's Play Strategy. This Government are giving councils more freedom over how they spend their money, giving communities more control over developments in their neighbourhoods, and making it easier for volunteers and charities to get involved. This should provide the opportunities for committed people and local groups to continue to influence play provision in their areas, leaving responsibility for play provision where it belongs: with local areas and their communities.

Special Educational Needs

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the Special Educational Needs Green Paper, paragraph 7, page 5, what the evidential basis is for the bias identified by his Department towards inclusion for children with special educational needs.

Sarah Teather: In developing the Green Paper many parents told us that they do not have a real choice of school, including many parents who want a special school for their child and feel frustrated by not being given their choice by the local authority. By preventing the unnecessary closure of special schools and encouraging the development of the special school sector, through special academies and free schools, the Government will improve parents' choice of school, whether that be for mainstream or special.

Special Educational Needs

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the new Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice will include a child's right to a named and trained senior person in each school responsible for SEN.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 18 July 2011
	The current Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice sets out the role of the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), who has day-to-day responsibility for the coordination of provision made for individual children with SEN and can provide advice to those children. Every local authority maintained mainstream school and every new mainstream academy, following the Academies Act 2010, must appoint a SENCO and that SENCO must be a qualified teacher. The current code points out that many schools find it effective for the SENCO to be a member of the senior leadership team.
	In any revision of the code of practice following the SEN and disability Green Paper we will consider whether to say more about the support SENCOs can give to individual children as well as their colleagues in meeting those children's SEN.

Special Educational Needs: Dyslexia

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on (a) diagnosis of and (b) educational support for children with dyslexia in each of the last five years; what information his Department holds on the number of children diagnosed with dyslexia in each of the last five years; what steps he has taken to ensure the accuracy of diagnoses of dyslexia; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 19 July 2011
	Data are not collected centrally on spending on diagnosis and support for children with dyslexia or on the number of children with dyslexia. Data are collected on the number of children at School Action Plus of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice or with statements of special educational needs with specific learning difficulty, which includes dyslexia. In January 2011 there were 78,135 such pupils; 11.1% of the total number of children at School Action Plus and with statements.
	Schools and local authorities have statutory duties in respect of identifying and supporting children with special educational needs from within the funds available to them.
	The Department is taking a range of specific measures to improve the identification of and support for children with dyslexia. These include:
	making support available to every school for the teaching of systematic synthetic phonics—revising and strengthening the core criteria that define the key features of an effective systematic synthetic phonics programme to help schools in selecting an effective programme and making £3,000 of match funding available to all schools with Key Stage One pupils for phonics materials and training;
	introducing a new phonics screening check for children in Year One; working with initial teacher training providers to ensure that all trainee primary teachers' have the understanding and confidence to teach children to read using systematic synthetic phonics; funding teachers to take specialist dyslexia training courses approved by the British Dyslexia Association (some 3,200 teachers in the period 2009-11);
	developing through the Training and Development Agency for Schools specialist resources for initial teacher training programmes include units on dyslexia to give trainees a grounding in recognising dyslexia and supporting pupils with dyslexia;
	developing through the Training and Development Agency for School new advanced level online modules in dyslexia which will build on earlier programmes and further enhance teachers' knowledge, understanding and skills; and,
	providing grant funding to the Dyslexia-Specific Learning Difficulty Trust in 2011-12 to raise awareness and support parents and schools.

Teachers

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department provides to (a) primary and (b) secondary schools on enterprise teaching.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not produce guidance on enterprise teaching. Enterprise education is part of the economic well-being strand of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. Pupils are taught what it means to be enterprising; the nature of the world of work; about different types of businesses and how to manage their finances effectively.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is developing online resources for teachers that will enable them to set-up school businesses and access support from local enterprise champions.

Teachers: Training

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the likely effect on the viability of higher education institutions of a move to school-based initial teacher training.

Nick Gibb: h olding answer 23 May  2011
	We have recently published our proposals for the reform of initial teacher training in the discussion document "Training our next generation of outstanding teachers". These proposals are for discussion until 22 July, and we will publish our final policy in September. Our reforms do not signal the end of the involvement of higher education institutions in ITT, and the discussion document sets out the role we see for them in the future of training teachers. As we implement our reforms to ITT, the Training and Development Agency for Schools and the new Teaching Agency will continue to consider the viability of HEIs in implementing changes to the system.

Departmental Manpower

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many people have been (a) recruited and (b) made redundant from (i) his Department and (ii) each non-departmental body for which he is responsible since May 2010;
	(2)  how much (a) his Department and (b) each non-departmental body for which he is responsible has spent on redundancies since May 2010.

John Penrose: Since May 2010, this Department has recruited six members of staff, all on fixed term contracts. In the final quarter of 2010-11 the Department ran a voluntary redundancy scheme for all staff under the new Civil Service Compensation Scheme and 44 members of staff have left as at 30 June 2011. The Department has spent £2,891,000 on redundancies since May 2010.
	The Department does not hold this information for each arm's length body for which it is responsible and I have asked the chief executive of each one to write directly to the right hon. Member. Copies of these letters will be placed in the Library of both Houses.

Departmental Regulation

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many regulations his Department has introduced (a) in the six months prior to 1 September 2010 and (b) in the six months after 1 September 2010 which it has determined do not impose costs on businesses.

John Penrose: Between 1 March and 1 September 2010, this Department did not introduce any regulations which do not impose costs on businesses.
	In the six months after 1 September 2010, the Department introduced one statutory instrument, the Media Ownership (Radio and Cross Media) Order, to remove the local cross media ownership rules the impact of introducing the regulation is net zero cost to business.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will consider keeping data on the number of times (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have declined a request for a meeting from an hon. Member of each political party.

John Penrose: The Department has no plans to record this data.

Tourism

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the economic state of the tourism sectors in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) England; and what steps he plans to take to assist the tourism industry.

John Penrose: VisitEngland's United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS) shows the volume and value data for domestic overnight tourism across the nations of the UK in 2010, in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Destination Trips Nights Expenditure 
			 England 96.377 288.111 16,210 
			 Scotland 12.371 44.556 2,628 
			 Wales 8.688 32.877 1,450 
			 Northern Ireland 2.600 7.777 548 
			 UK total 119.434 373.321 20,935 
		
	
	The confirmed data for inbound tourism will be published by the Office for National Statistics by the end of July.
	The 2011 figures up to the end of March for England and Great Britain are available at:
	http://www.visitengland.org/Images/March%202011-%20Commentary%20of%20results_tcm30-26862.pdf
	Scotland and Wales figures are not yet available, and Northern Ireland no longer participates in the survey.
	VisitBritain commissioned a study last year, with each of the individual nations, examining the economic value of tourism. This is available at:
	http://www.visitbritain.org/Images/Economic%20case%20for%20the%20Visitor%20Economy %20-%20Phase%202%20-%2026%20july%202010%20-%20FINAL_tcm29-14561.pdf
	A £100 million overseas tourism marketing fund has been established for tourism promotion in key markets, as a joint public-private sector initiative. This marketing programme will aim to deliver an additional 4 million visitors to the UK and £2 billion in additional visitor spend over four years. The Government's plans for promoting the growth of the visitor economy are set out in detail in the paper, "Government Tourism Policy" published in March 2011, and available at
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/7896.aspx

Colombia: Mining

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to his counterpart in Colombia on potential levels of population displacement in connection with the proposed development of the La Colosa gold mine in that country.

William Hague: We have not made representations to the Colombian Government on this specific development. I discussed the regulation and environmental impact of mining with the Colombian Foreign Minister on Wednesday 13 July and agreed to continue cooperation to help improve standards in this area.
	The key concerns for non-governmental organisations and the Colombian media about the proposed development are over water use and environmental impacts of the operation rather than population displacement. Currently, the development is only in the exploration phase, and the Colombian Government will need to give further approval before mining operations can begin. This will be in line with the new Mining Code which the Colombian Government are currently developing. We will continue following the development of the code to ensure that environmental provisions are robust.

Eritrea: Religious Freedom

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the extent of religious freedom in Eritrea; and what representations his Department has made to the Eritrean government on freedom of religion.

Jeremy Browne: We are deeply concerned by the restrictions placed on religious freedoms in Eritrea, and the many reports of the detention and inhumane treatment of those belonging to a religion not officially sanctioned by the Eritrean Government. We are also worried by recent reports of an order for all members of the clergy aged under 30 to report for national service.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office raises human rights concerns, including religious freedoms, with the Eritrean Government at every appropriate opportunity, both with the Eritrean embassy in London and with the Government in Asmara. In June this year, Her Majesty's ambassador to Eritrea raised human rights concerns with President Isaias Afwerki. Earlier this month, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham) raised human rights, including religious freedom, with senior Eritrea Cabinet Minister Arefaine Berhe. Along with EU partners, the United Kingdom has highlighted to the Eritrean Government its human rights obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
	The Eritrean Government states that the security threat stemming from Ethiopia's non-implementation of the ruling on the countries' shared border obliges Eritrea to suspend many freedoms. We recognise Eritrea's security concerns but firmly reject the notion that this justifies the current severe abuses of human rights.

India: Entry Clearances

Jane Ellison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on the time taken to issue visas to UK nationals for visits to India.

Jeremy Browne: We have raised our concerns about the impact of Indian immigration rules on British nationals, including those of Pakistani origin and those owning property in India, with the Indian authorities on a number of occasions. Our high commissioner in New Delhi raised a number of visa issues with the Indian Home Secretary in December 2010. In addition, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised these issues with the Indian high commissioner in February 2011.

Libya: Armed Conflict

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contingency arrangements are in place for the establishment of a new administration in Libya.

Alistair Burt: The UK considers the National Transitional Council (NTC) to be the legitimate governing authority in Libya. We welcome efforts made by the NTC to plan for the establishment of a transitional administration for the benefit of all the Libyan people. The NTC's "Road map for Libya" sets out their vision.
	A UK-led International Stabilisation Response Team (ISRT) visited Libya in June, to look at how the international community could support the Libyan people in their transition to a peaceful and stable democratic state. The Libya Contact Group in Istanbul on 15 July, set out plans for how a better , open and free Libya can be created, how post-Gaddafi stabilisation can be achieved and how the international community can support this Libyan-led process under the overall leadership of the UN. Stabilisation efforts must be owned and led by the Libyan people. We will continue to co-ordinate with our international partners in supporting the Libyan people to build a stable and peaceful society.

Oil: Production

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with other oil-producing countries to increase the production of oil.

Jeremy Browne: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has discussions on a range of issues with counterparts. The Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Lord Howell of Guildford, discussed oil markets and production during his visit to the Gulf Region in May, which included Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

UN Environment Programme

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on proposals to enhance the status of the UN Environment Programme within the UN.

Jeremy Browne: The UK is committed to strengthening the institutional framework for sustainable development and enhancing the system of international environmental governance. We believe this will require an enhanced role for UNEP as part of a strong environmental pillar within the broader context of strengthening overall sustainable development governance. The UK is engaged in open discussion of broad reform options to make the current system more effective and efficient and will continue to play an active role in preparatory negotiations on this issue in the run up to Rio+20 next June where a major theme is 'the institutional framework for sustainable development'.

Child Support Agency: Absent Parents

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what powers the Child Support Agency has to pursue self-employed absent parents (a) in and (b) outside the UK; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of such powers.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what powers the Child Support Agency has to pursue self-employed absent parents (a) in and (b) outside the UK; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of such powers.
	The Commission has jurisdiction to make a maintenance calculation and collect child support maintenance only when the parent with care, the non-resident parent and the qualifying child are all habitually resident in the UK. Habitual residence is a legal concept which means more than simply 'where you live'. A person can habitually reside in more than one country or in none. Habitual residence can continue during an absence from UK.
	The Commission retains the power to pursue a self-employed non-resident parent that lives in the UK; or who has moved overseas, for ongoing maintenance payments, but only where the non-resident parent in question is regarded as being habitually resident in the UK. The criteria for establishing jurisdiction when a non-resident parent leaves the UK is described at Section 44 of the Child Support Act 1991. There is no distinction made between an EU state and a non-EU state.
	If the non-resident parent ceases to be habitually resident, the Commission can no longer seek ongoing maintenance. We can only enforce child maintenance arrears directly if the self-employed non-resident parent holds assets within the UK, such as savings or property, which would fall within the jurisdiction of the UK courts. Since 3 August 2009, the Commission has had the power to make deductions from current or savings accounts held within the UK without the consent of the non-resident parent.
	The Commission may take action to prevent the non-resident parent disposing of his assets, from which the Commission could recover the arrears. The Commission may apply to the High Court (England and Wales) or the Court of Session (Scotland) If a non-resident parent has arrears of child support; and have disposed of, or is about to dispose of, assets with the intention of avoiding child support.
	From 18 June 2011, the Commission will have some ability under the new European legislation EC 04/2009 to enforce certain arrears of maintenance that accrued while both parents were resident in the UK where the non-resident parent now resides in another jurisdiction within the European Union. It can also assist parents with care in the process of obtaining a court order for ongoing maintenance which can then be enforced via an application to the Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO) unit at the Office of the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee in England and Wales, and via an equivalent legal mechanism in Scotland. The new European legislation also allows the Commission to make enquiries about assets a non-resident parent may own in another E.U member state for the purposes of enforcing child maintenance arrears owed in the UK.
	The government recognises that it can be difficult to secure child maintenance in circumstances where the non-resident parent is self-employed and will not willingly accept financial responsibility for their child. Supporting their, children is something parents should manage for themselves and we are taking steps to support them in doing so. However, for the limited number of cases where this proves impossible, we have plans to introduce a new, more automated system for managing child maintenance cases which should make enforcement action quicker and more effective, including against the self-employed.
	The Commission has not made any formal assessment of the full effectiveness of the powers that will be deployed to secure maintenance on the future scheme, as some of these are fairly new and others are yet to be commenced.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) average cost per case and (b) total cost was of enforcement action used by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission by means of (i) deduction from earnings orders, (ii) deduction orders, (iii) liability orders, (iv) distress actions, (v) charging for payments orders (Scotland), (vi) charging orders (England and Wales), (vii) orders for sale (England and Wales), (viii) bill of inhibition (Scotland), (ix) committal and (x) recovery from a deceased's estate in the last 12 months.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average cost per case and (b) total amount spent was of enforcement action used by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission by means of (i) deduction from earnings orders (ii) deduction orders (iii) liability orders (iv) distress actions (v) charging for payments orders (Scotland) (vi) charging orders (England and Wales) (vii) orders for sale (England and Wales) (viii) bill of inhibition (Scotland) (ix) committal and (x) recovery from a deceased's estate in the last 12 months.
	The average cost per case handled by the Commission's legal enforcement teams in the financial year to 31 March 2011 was £1,539.'The total expenditure was £62,740,826 It is not possible to break this down over the requested categories, since costs are assigned to cost centres and cost types rather than specific activities. However it is possible, as shown in the table below, to provide this cost broken down by work area.
	
		
			 Enforcement action Cost (£) 
			 Internal costs (People/premises, IT, etc.) 54,320,225 
			 Bailiffs England and Wales 656,428 - 
			 Legal costs England and Wales 3,065,330 
			 Tracing costs (HMRC) 1,864,433 
			 Debt collection agencies 1,219,691 
			 Legal costs Scotland 1,614,718 
			 Total 62,740,826 
		
	
	A further breakdown of the Commission enforcement activity can be found on page 24 of the Commission's Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS). The latest version of the QSS is available in the House of Commons library or online at:
	http://www.childmaintenance.org/en/publications/stats0311.html
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  with reference to Section 20 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008, what progress he has made in carrying out a pilot using deduction from earnings orders as the first means of collecting child maintenance; and whether a full programme of evaluation and impact assessment of such orders has been undertaken;
	(2)  what plans he has to implement section 20 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 to allow use of deduction from earnings orders as a basic method of collection of child maintenance.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	; and
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to implement section 20 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 to allow use of deduction from earnings orders as a basic method of collection of child maintenance.
	The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No.2) Regulations 2008 introduced Deduction from Earnings Orders (DEO) as a basic means of payment of child maintenance from 27 October 2008. No piloting activity was undertaken prior to the introduction of the DEO as a standard method of payment.
	Section 20 of the 2008 Act was commenced for the purposes of making regulations on 26 September 2008 and for all other purposes on 27 October 2008.
	The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No.2) Regulations 2008 were made consequent to the commencement of section 20 of the 2008 Act. The 2008 Regulations included DEO as a standard method of payment of child maintenance, alongside Direct Debits.
	Provision is also made for a non-resident parent to make representations that there is a good reason why they should not pay via DEO. These must be considered by the Agency prior to the imposition of a DEO. The 2008 Regulations further provide that non-resident parents have a right to appeal to a court against the imposition of a DEO.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many deduction of earnings orders will be kept in place (a) during the migration of cases to the new child maintenance system and (b) until parents are able to make a private agreement; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many deduction- of earnings orders will be kept in place (a) during the migration of cases to the new child maintenance system and (b) until parents are able to make a private agreement; and if he will make a statement.
	The process underpinning the closure of cases on the existing statutory maintenance schemes, and the movement of those cases to either a family based arrangement or application to the future statutory scheme has yet to be finalised (this includes the status of any deduction from earnings orders currently in place).
	The Government intends to draft Regulations and consult publicly on the details of the existing scheme case closure process later in the year.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Departmental Regulation

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many regulations that impose costs on businesses his Department has (a) introduced and (b) removed since 1 September 2010; what the net effect on the costs on businesses of such introductions and removals was; and what regulations have been excluded from the one-in one-out system because they address (i) emergencies and (ii) systemic financial risks since 1 September 2010.

Chris Grayling: Since 1 September 2010 the Department has introduced one set of regulations that imposes costs on business and removed one such set of regulations. The net effect is a reduction of costs on business.
	The Department has not excluded any regulations from the one-in one-out system because it addresses emergencies or systemic financial risks.

Remploy: Advertising

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons the Board of Remploy did not undertake a consultation before advertising for a paid non-executive director; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Miller: No consultation is required to appoint a non executive director to the Board of Remploy. This is a ministerial appointment and is currently being advertised by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Agriculture: Young People

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to increase the number of young people pursuing a career in agriculture.

James Paice: DEFRA's first priority in its Business plan is to help improve the competitiveness of British farming which will make it a more rewarding career prospect.
	We support and encourage the activities of the Agri-Skills Forum
	http://www.agriskillsforum.co.uk/
	whose remit is to raise skill levels and improve the professionalism of the industry, making it more attractive to young people.
	In addition we are working with both the industry and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to help increase the uptake of apprenticeships by farmers to encourage young people into farming careers.

Animal Welfare: Charities

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many meetings she has had with animal welfare charities since her appointment; and what matters were discussed at each such meeting.

James Paice: The Secretary of State and her ministerial team have had a number of meetings with animal welfare charities including the RSPCA, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Blue Cross Animal Hospital, Dogs Trust, Animal Defenders International, Captive Animals' Protection Society, Kennel Club and BornFree. These meetings have been part of a programme of stakeholder engagement to discuss a wide variety of current issues.

Badgers

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the size of the badger population in each local authority area in England in each of the last five years.

James Paice: Based on national population surveys of badger social groups carried out in the 1980s and 1990s, there are estimated to be between 250,000, and 300,000 badgers in Great Britain. No data are available for individual local authority areas.

Biotechnology

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to promote innovation in the biotechnology sector for the purposes of enhancing food security.

James Paice: The Government invest about £400 million per annum on agriculture and food research, including up to £90 million over five years through the Technology Strategy Board's Sustainable Agriculture and Food Platform (co-funded by DEFRA and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council), which provides a key mechanism for driving industry-led innovation to stimulate the development of new technologies to support a competitive, environmentally sustainable farming and resilient food sector.
	Government funders, industry and third sector bodies are working together through the Government's Chief Scientist Food Research Partnership and the Global Food Security programme to ensure that multi-disciplinary research, is robust, relevant and providing good value for money.
	DEFRA is also funding collaborative research and development and innovation activities to promote a more sustainable, resilient and competitive food chain.
	To strengthen agricultural research and innovation, the Government are actively building links and joint initiatives, for example through membership of the EU Joint Programming initiative which aims to maximise member state benefit from R&D funding, and the Global Research Alliance which aims to find ways of reducing greenhouse gas through international collaboration.
	The Government also recognise that GM technology could deliver benefits providing it is used safely and responsibly, in particular as one of a range of tools to address the longer term challenges of global food security, climate change, and the need for more sustainable agricultural production.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of scientific advice on the effectiveness of a badger cull in reducing rates of bovine tuberculosis in England.

James Paice: The results of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) showed that badger culling, when done on a sufficient scale in a widespread, coordinated and efficient way, and over a sustained period of time, would reduce the incidence of bovine TB in cattle in high incidence areas.
	The evidence base on the effects of culling badgers on TB incidence in cattle was recently assessed at a meeting between DEFRA’s chief scientific adviser, chief veterinary officer and a panel of independent experts. The key conclusions from this meeting, which includes the most up to date results of the on-going post-RBCT analysis were recently published on the DEFRA website at
	http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/tb/documents/bovinetb-scientificexperts-110404.pdf

Carbon Emissions: Business

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hartlepool of 27 October 2010, Official Report, column 319W, when she plans to announce her decision on whether to introduce the mandatory reporting of carbon dioxide emissions by UK listed companies; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: We will announce a decision on the corporate reporting of greenhouse gas emissions in the autumn.

Crops: Droughts

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what programmes to develop drought-resistant or tolerant-crops are being funded by her Department.

James Paice: DEFRA funds research on the impact of water shortages on farming through the Farming and Food Science Sustainable Water Management R and D programme, which includes R and D to develop crop varieties with improved water-use efficiency. These projects are shown in the following table.
	DEFRA also funds broader Crop Genetic Improvement Networks (on cereals, oilseed rape, pulses, vegetables, grasses, biomass crops) which deliver tools and knowledge to underpin plant breeding and the development of varieties with improved performance such as efficient use of water and nutrients.
	
		
			 Project code End date Title 
			 AC0314 30 April 2013 Identification of important crop traits for adaptation to climate change 
			 HL0187LFV 31 March 2012 Improving water use efficiency and fruit quality in field grown strawberry 
			 WU0106 30 June 2011 Generic approaches to increasing water use efficiency (WUE) in crops by enhancing abscisic acid biosynthesis 
			 WU0107 31 March 2012 Determination of the response of strawberry to water-limited conditions, identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) and development of molecular markers 
			 WU0115 31 March 2014 Genomics tools for pre-selection of water-use efficiency in top fruit rootstocks 
			 WU0121 31 March 2012 An Integrated Approach to Increasing Water Use Efficiency and Drought Tolerance of Wheat Production in UK 
			 IF0145 31 March 2013 Understanding and dissecting the genetic control of key "environmental impact" traits in forage grasses and legumes 
			 LK0688 31 March 2013 Development of productive and persistent high quality forage grasses and white clover with increased water-use-efficiency and resilience to summer droughts 
			 IF0142 30 September 2011 Sequencing the gene space of potato chromosome IV, comparative analysis with tomato and development of a gene based mapping platform (contribution to a BBSRC project-funding of SCRI component) 
			 IF0157 31 March 2012 Leafy Vegetable Genetic Improvement Network (VeGIN 1): Pre-breeding research to support sustainable farming of leafy vegetables and salads 
			 IFO158 31 March 2012 Vegetable Genetic Improvement Network (VeGIN 2): Pre-breeding research to support sustainable farming of carrot and onion 
			 IF0146 30 November 2013 The Wheat Genetic Improvement Network (WGIN) - Improving the environmental footprint of farming through crop genetics and targeted traits analysis 
			 IF0147 31 January 2014 DEFRA Pulse Crop Genetic Improvement Network 
		
	
	
		
			 IF0144 31 March 2013 OREGIN - Pre-breeding research to support climate change adaptation and reduction of the environmental footprint of Oilseed rape 
			 LK09129 15 September 2014 Exploiting novel genes to improve resource use efficiency in wheat

Departmental Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what regulations her Department introduced between 1 March 2011 and 31 May 2011; and what the estimated costs of implementation for those affected were in each case.

James Paice: The Department made the following 31 statutory instruments between 1 March 2011 and 31 May 2011:
	1. The Poultry Health Scheme (Fees) Regulations (SI 2011/1194)
	2. The Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/1135)
	3. The Veterinary Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/1116)
	4. The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/988)
	5. The Aquatic Animal Health (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/981)
	6. The Marine Licensing (Notice Appeals) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/936)
	7. The Marine Licensing (Licence Application Appeals) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/934)
	8. The British Waterways Board (Kennet and Avon Canal) (Reclassification) Order 2011 (SI 2011/889)
	9. The Animal By-products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/881)
	10. The Sea Fishing (Penalty Notices) (England) Order 2011 (SI 2011/758)
	11. The Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/735)
	12 The Smoke Control Areas (Authorised Fuels) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/715)
	13. The Smoke Control Areas (Exempted Fireplaces) (England) Order 2011 (SI 2011/714)
	14. The Flood Risk Management Overview and Scrutiny Committee (England) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/697)
	15. The Environment Agency (Levies) (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/696)
	16. The Regional Flood and Coastal Committees (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/695)
	17. The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2011 (SI 2011/694)
	18. The Marine Licensing (Delegation of Functions) Order 2011 (SI 2011/627)
	19. The Conservation of Habitats and Species (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/625)
	20. The Marine and Costal Access Act 2009 (Transitional and Savings Provisions) Order 2011 (SI 2011/603)
	21. The Marine Licensing (Application Fees) Regulations 2011) (SI 2011/564)
	22. The Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/464)
	23. The Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/463)
	24. The Bovine Semen (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/454)
	25. The Poultrymeat (England) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/452)
	26. The Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2001/451)
	27. The Marine Licensing (Register of Licensing Information) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/424)
	28. The Petroleum Act 998 (Specified Pipelines) Order 2011 (SI 2011/423)
	29. The Marine Licensing (Exempted Activities) Order 2011 (SI 2011/409)
	30. The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/405)
	31. The Inshore Fisheries and Conservation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2011 (SI 2011/177)
	Information on the equivalent annual net cost to business of domestic regulations introduced between 1 January and 30 June 2011 were published in the Government’s “One-in, One-out: Statement of New Regulation” published in April 2011 and which is available to view at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/better-regulation/docs/o/11-p96a-one-in-one-out-new-regulation.pdf
	The overall effect of DEFRA regulations was an equivalent annual net saving to business of £28,000.

Departmental Regulation

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many regulations 
	(1)  her Department has introduced (a) in the six months prior to 1 September 2010 and (b) in the six months after 1 September 2010 which it has determined do not impose costs on businesses;
	(2)  that impose costs on businesses her Department has (a) introduced and (b) removed since 1 September 2010; what the net effect on the costs on businesses of such introductions and removals was; and what regulations have been excluded from the one-in one-out system because they address (i) emergencies and (ii) systemic financial risks since 1 September 2010;
	(3)  that impose costs on businesses her Department (a) introduced and (b) removed in the six months prior to 1 September 2010; and what the net effect on the costs on businesses of such introductions and removals was.

James Paice: The One-in, One-out regulatory management system, although announced in September, did not come into force till January 2011.
	DEFRA does not hold information on the net cost to business of regulations introduced or removed prior to 1 September 2010. Such information was not collected routinely at that time and the cost of compiling it would be disproportionate.
	A list of regulatory measures introduced or removed in the first half of 2011 can be found in the Statement of New Regulation in the Libraries of the House.
	There have been no DEFRA regulations excluded from the One-in, One-out system because they address (i) emergencies and (ii) systemic financial risks since 1 September 2010.
	In the six months after 1 September 2010, the following five regulations were introduced which do not impose costs on businesses:
	1. The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (Commencement No. 2) Order 2011 (SI 2011/95)
	2. The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2011 (SI 2011/694)
	3. The Sea Fishing (Penalty Notices) (England) Order 2011 (SI 2011/758)
	4. The Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/464)
	5. The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (Commencement No. 4) Order 2011.

Land: Contamination

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funds her Department has received under Heading 1 of the EU Budget in respect of the decontamination of brownfield sites in the latest period for which figures are available; and when she expects further such funds to be received.

Mark Prisk: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for the relevant EU Budget Heading—1b (which includes Structural and Cohesion Funds, the main programme which supports the decontamination of brownfield land). The information is drawn from reported action under Code 50 of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)—“Rehabilitation of industrial sites and contaminated land”.
	As at 30 June 2011, the UK had contracted to pay a total of £41,958,337 (30 June Euro to £ sterling conversion rate) during the Budget period 2007 to 2013. Further payments could be made during the current Budget period, subject to the eligibility of specific projects.

Trees: Disease Control

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures her Department has taken in response to infestations of trees and woodlands; what measures have been taken in relation to outbreaks of oak processionary moth; and what measures have been taken in relation to trees in the Ealing ward of Hanger Hill.

James Paice: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith) on 7 July 2010, Official Report, column 283W.
	The Forestry Commission has powers to control pests under the Plant Heath (Forestry) Act 2005. The Forestry Commission is also working with the Food and Environment Research Agency on a proposal for Oak Processionary Moth to be listed as a quarantine pest under European plant health legislation. While this proposal is being considered, our national measures remain in force.
	The strategy to deal with Oak Processionary Moth has moved from eradication to one of containment in the west London outbreak area. This is because the moth is now established in mature trees where it is no longer feasible to locate and destroy the pest effectively. A 10km buffer zone has been set up outside the outbreak area within which regular surveys will be conducted and statutory control notices will ensure that any new infestations are eradicated.
	The Ealing Ward of Hanger Hill now lies within the containment zone.

British Sky Broadcasting: News Corporation

John Mann: To ask the Prime Minister on what date his Chief of Staff informed the Home Office about the alleged involvement of the News of the World with criminals.

David Cameron: 1 refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 July 2011, Official Report, column 302-03.

Overseas Aid

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has received on placing his Department's budget on a statutory footing.

Alan Duncan: We have not received any representations regarding placing the budget of the Department for International Development on a statutory footing.
	We have received a number of representations regarding the coalition Government's commitment to enshrine the commitment to spend 0.7% of national income as official development assistance from 2013 onwards. As the Prime Minister has made clear, the Government intend to place that commitment onto a statutory footing as soon as the parliamentary timetable allows.

Ports

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the EU Transport Commissioner on the harmonisation of port entry and clearance formalities across the EU.

Michael Penning: Officials from the Department are involved in regular discussions, together with their counterparts in other members states, with the European Commission on the implementation of Directive 2010/65/EU on reporting formalities for ships calling at/departing from ports in the EU.
	There have been no direct discussions with the EU Transport Commissioner on the matter of harmonisation of port entry and clearance formalities.
	The Department will continue to work closely with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the UK Borders Agency and HM Revenue and Customs on implementation.

Railways: Fares

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the affordability of regulated rail fares following the introduction of the RPI plus three per cent. formula.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 11 July 2011
	A distributional analysis of the impact of rail fare increases was conducted during the spending review and used to inform Department for Transport and Treasury decisions on spending review outcomes.

Railways: Planning Permission

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what process will be followed to transfer planning applications affecting the rail network under consideration by the Infrastructure Planning Commission to other bodies after its abolition.

Theresa Villiers: The Localism Bill includes a power of direction to allow the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), to transfer applications on a case by case basis at the point of the Infrastructure Planning Commission's abolition.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to end tolls on the Severn Crossings

Michael Penning: It has been standard practice to toll all major crossings in the UK since 1945. However, no decisions have yet been made on the future of the Severn Crossing once the existing concession ends in 2017.

Government Procurement Card

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2011, Official Report, column 446W, on departmental official hospitality, which of the transactions under the heading of (a) restaurants and bars and (b) leisure activities in the Government Procurement Card transaction data of (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10 were made using cards held by the private office of each Minister in his Department.

Bob Neill: The following transactions were made under the heading of ‘restaurants and bars’ and ‘leisure activities’ using cards held by ministerial private offices in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
	
		
			 2008-09 
			 Transaction date Merchant Town Spend category Transaction amount (£) 
			 14 April 2008 Nags Head Inn Usk Restaurants and Bars 51.15 
			 21 April 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 36.20 
			 1 May 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 30.25 
			 12 May 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 43.55 
			 3 June 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 48.45 
			 4 June 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 52.15 
			 11 June 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 55.40 
			 13 June 2008 Pizza Express 1341 Victoria 1 Restaurants and Bars 35.75 
			 18 June 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 48.10 
			 20 June 2008 Ritazza Cafe Paddington St Restaurants and Bars 7.17 
			 25 June 2008 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars 5.45 
			 1 July 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 54.55 
			 1 July 2008 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars 5.30 
			 7 July 2008 Pump House Durham Leisure Activities 245.40 
			 9 July 2008 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars 6.55 
			 11 July 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 48.35 
			 15 July 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 42.15 
			 18 July 2008 Costa Coffee Newcastle U T Restaurants and Bars 7.30 
			 23 July 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 52.90 
			 24 July 2008 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars 88.70 
			 31 July 2008 Moto Catering Ferrybridge Restaurants and Bars 8.08 
			 19 August 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 27.60 
			 21 August 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 22.75 
			 21 August 2008 Pizza Express 1341 Victoria 1 Restaurants and Bars 52.90 
			 2 October 2008 Pizza Express 1341 Victoria 1 Restaurants and Bars 33.75 
			 14 October 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 48.25 
			 20 October 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 49.10 
			 30 October 2008 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars 53.20 
			 31 October 2008 Pizza Express 1341 Victoria 1 Restaurants and Bars 30.35 
			 31 October 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 27.20 
			 2 November 2008 Nanjing Qina Tang Renjia Nanjing Restaurants and Bars 27.30 
			 4 November 2008 SHH Yong An Xianqiangfang Shanghai Restaurants and Bars 522.73 
			 20 November 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 50.05 
			 25 November 2008 Pizza Express 1341 Victoria 1 Restaurants and Bars 40.10 
			 2 December 2008 The Wolseley London W1J Restaurants and Bars 99.23 
			 5 December 2008 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 45.45 
			 17 December 2008 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars 33.00 
			 18 December 2008 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars -18.00 
			 22 January 2009 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 31.30 
			 5 February 2009 Starbucks Coffee Co London Restaurants and Bars 5.43 
			 12 February 2009 Costa @ Cardinal London 430220 Restaurants and Bars 6.00 
			 10 March 2009 Pret A Manger 57 Great East Restaurants and Bars 3.58 
			 17 March 2009 Costa Waterloo London SE1 Restaurants and Bars 4.30 
			 19 March 2009 Gruppo Inn The Parks London SW1A Restaurants and Bars 107.78 
			 30 March 2009 Starbucks Coffee3913407 75 Paris 8 Restaurants and Bars 9.20 
		
	
	
		
			 2009  -  10 
			 Transaction date Merchant Town Spend category Transaction amount (£) 
			 3 April 2009 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars 480.10 
			 8 May 2009 Pizza Express London 2031 Restaurants and Bars 35.25 
			 14 May 2009 Garfunkels Edinburgh 897 Restaurants and Bars 16.00 
			 15 May 2009 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars 334.20 
			 5 June 2009 Wagamama Victoria Victoria Restaurants and Bars 42.95 
			 5 June 2009 The Wolseley London W1J Restaurants and Bars 97.37 
			 1 October 2009 Old Star City Of Westminster Restaurants and Bars 44.20 
			 21 October 2009 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars 18.10 
		
	
	
		
			 30 October 2009 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars 95.40 
			 3 November 2009 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars 31.20 
			 26 November 2009 Fuel Cafe Bar Ltd Manchester Restaurants and Bars 9.40 
			 12 January 2010 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars 384.60 
			 18 February 2010 Costa @ Durham Southbound Restaurants and Bars 8.50 
			 8 March 2010 Refreshment Dpt Micros London SW1P Restaurants and Bars 35.00 
		
	
	The Government Procurement Card spend categories depend on how the vendor classifies their business. Some transactions under the ‘restaurants and bars’ line related to the purchase of gifts on official business, and were excluded from the figures provided in my written answer of 9 June 2011, Official Report, column 447W.
	The single transaction listed under ‘leisure activities’ was a ministerial working dinner and should therefore be added to the figures provided in my written answer of 9 June 2011, Official Report, column 447W.
	My Department is committed to greater transparency over the use of the Government Procurement Card than under the last Administration, and has strengthened checks and balances to ensure protection of taxpayer’s money.

Local Government: Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to tender through Contracts Finder.

Bob Neill: In February, a new, free-to-use, online Contracts Finder portal was launched to make it easier and cheaper for small and medium enterprises and the voluntary and community sector to bid for public sector opportunities.
	Procurement in local government is a matter for local discretion and my Department does not wish to prescribe to local authorities how they should conduct their business. My Department does, however, encourage local authorities to consider tendering through Contracts Finder. I am also delighted to say that the noble Lady, Baroness Eaton, supported Contract Finder while Chair of the Local Government Association, vowing that the Local Government Group will, through the Local Productivity Programme, spear head its roll-out across local government.

Employment Tribunals Service

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employment tribunal (a) hearings were cancelled by the tribunal, (b) hearings were listed as floaters, (c) hearings were listed within 26 weeks of receipt in single jurisdiction claims, (d) hearings had to be adjourned as a result of being part-heard and (e) written judgments were sent to the parties within four weeks of the conclusion of the hearing in each region in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the average period of time taken was to list pre-hearing reviews in each region.

Jonathan Djanogly: Employment tribunals list various types of hearings, including case management discussions, pre hearing reviews, full/final hearings (which include assessment of remedies, where relevant) and review hearings.
	Listing of hearings in cases (including the cancellation, postponement or adjournment of cases) is a judicial matter. Once listed, ‘cancellations’ can occur, for example, where the claim is resolved, settled or withdrawn before the hearing is scheduled to take place; where a postponement request is made by one or both of the parties and accepted by the tribunal; or where the employment tribunal itself postpones the hearing on its own volition for any number of reasons.
	In relation to part (a) of the question, Table 1 shows all hearings marked as ‘postponed by Tribunal’ on the HMCTS management information system. It is not possible to discern the cause of the postponement (for example whether it was at the instigation of parties, or the tribunal's own volition).
	
		
			 Table 1: Hearings ‘Postponed by Tribunal’ in the financial year 2010-11 
			 Region Total   h  earings postponed Full   hearings postponed 
			 Midlands 1,200 790 
			 North East and North West 1,400 970 
			 Central London 650 420 
			 Greater London and South East 1,200 960 
			 Wales and South West 880 630 
			 Scotland(1) — — 
			 GB total 5,400 3,800 
			 (1) There were no postponements by tribunal recorded in Scotland in 2010-11, in 2009-10 there were two. Notes: 1. Hearings are marked as ‘postponed by Tribunal’ on the tribunal management information system. These are hearings where, for a variety of reasons including cancellation, that the hearing has been postponed by the tribunal. It is not possible to separate out the reasons for the postponement. Therefore the table gives indicative figures for the total number of postponements by tribunals, of which cancellations will be a subset. 2. All figures by region in the latest period for which figures are available. Rounding: Figures in the tables are rounded independently and thus may not add to totals. The following conventions have been used: Values less than 100 remain as unit values; Values from 100 to 999 are rounded to nearest 10; and Values of 1,000 and over are rounded to the nearest 100. Source: ET Central database July 2011 
		
	
	In relation to part (b), employment tribunal offices are not required to collate and record this information and those that do, do not report the data so that it can be collated and held centrally. Accordingly, it is not possible to provide the information requested.
	In relation to part (c), Table 2 shows the number of ‘singles’ cases that were listed within 26 weeks of receipt of the original claim.
	
		
			 Table 2: Single cases with hearings listed within 26 weeks of receipt for the financial year 2010-11  (1) 
			 Region Single   cases with hearings listed for hearing within   26 weeks 
			 Midlands 4,600 
			 North East and North West 10,500 
			 Central London 2,400 
			 Greater London and South East 9,900 
		
	
	
		
			 Wales and South West 7,400 
			 Scotland 3,800 
			 GB total 38,500 
			 (1) There were 50,200 cases listed in the financial year 2010-11, of which 77% were listed for a first hearing within 26 weeks. Data on the percentage of single accepted cases where the first hearing began within 26 weeks of receipt (rather than being listed within that period), and the employment tribunals' performance against the 75% target, is published regularly. The latest available information, for the 2010-11 financial year is available on the MOJ website. Note: All figures by region in the latest period for which figures are available. Rounding: Figures in the tables are rounded independently and thus may not add to totals. The following conventions have been used: Values less than 100 remain as unit values; Values from 100 to 999 are rounded to nearest 10; and Values of 1,000 and over are rounded to the nearest 100. Source: ET Central database April 2011 
		
	
	In relation to part (d), Table 3 shows hearings that were adjourned as a result of being part-heard.
	
		
			 Table 3: All   part heard hearings   for the financial year 2010-11 
			 Region Total   hearings ‘part-heard’ Full/  final hearings ‘part-heard’ 
			 Midlands 87 81 
			 North East and North West 390 360 
			 Central London 210 190 
			 Greater London and South East 230 210 
			 Wales and South West 45 42 
			 Scotland 30 30 
			 GB total 990 920 
			 Note: All figures by region in the latest period for which figures are available. Rounding: Figures in the tables are rounded independently and thus may not add to totals. The following conventions have been used: Values less than 100 remain as unit values; Values from 100 to 999 are rounded to nearest 10; and Values of 1,000 and over are rounded to the nearest 100. Source: ET Central database July 2011 
		
	
	In relation to part (e), Table 4 shows the number of written judgments that were sent to the parties within four weeks of the conclusion of the hearing.
	
		
			 Table 4: Judgments sent to parties within 4 weeks of decision (single claims only) for the financial year 2010-11  (1) 
			 Region Judgment   sent within four weeks 
			 Midlands 960 
			 North East and North West 2,300 
			 Central London 700 
			 Greater London and South East 3,100 
			 Wales and South West 1,500 
			 Scotland 560 
		
	
	
		
			 GB total 9,100 
			 (1) There were 10,600 judgments issued in financial year 2010-11, of which 86% were issued within four weeks of the final hearing. Note: All figures by region in the latest period for which figures are available. Rounding: Figures in the tables are rounded independently and thus may not add to totals. The following conventions have been used: Values less than 100 remain as unit values; Values from 100 to 999 are rounded to nearest 10; and Values of 1,000 and over are rounded to the nearest 100. Source: ET Central database April 2011 
		
	
	In relation to the final part of the question about listing pre hearing reviews, Table 5 shows the average time taken to list such hearings in each region.
	
		
			 Table 5: Listing times for pre-hearing reviews for the financial year 2010-11 
			 Region Average   time from receipt to pre-hearing review   (  days  ) 
			 Midlands 260 
			 North East and North West 150 
			 Central London 150 
			 Greater London and South East 190 
			 Wales and South West 170 
			 Scotland 160 
			 GB average 180 
			 Note: All figures by region in the latest period for which figures are available. Rounding: Figures in the tables are rounded independently and thus may not add to totals. The following conventions have been used: Values less than 100 remain as unit values; Values from 100 to 999 are rounded to nearest 10; and Values of 1,000 and over are rounded to the nearest 100. Source: ET Central database July 2011

Naloxone

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to make Naloxone available on the NHS.

Simon Burns: Naloxone is available through the national health service in England. It is for the devolved Administrations to make decisions about expenditure on individual medicines.

Nurses: Training

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nursing training places were provided in each region in academic year 2010-11; and how many such places will be provided in 2011-12.

Anne Milton: Information on nursing training places is not collected by the Department by academic year, but by financial year. The following table provides the actual training commissions of diploma and degree programmes provided for 2010-11 and planned for 2011-12 by region.
	
		
			 Strategic Health Authority 2010-11 actual commissions for diploma programmes 2010-11 actual commissions for degree programmes 2011-12 planned commissions for diploma programmes 2011-12 planned commissions for degree programmes 
			 North East 727 320 399 601 
			 North West 1,595 1,835 433 - 2,649 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 1,335 815 579 1,269 
			 East Midlands 1,308 277 1,099 363 
			 West Midlands 1,827 694 0 2,102 
			 East of England 1,170 560 268 1,268 
			 London 2,751 937 286 3,115 
			 South East Coast 911 392 298 871 
			 South Central 859 283 469 639 
			 South West 852 644 262 1,099 
			 National 13,335 6,757 4,093 13,976

Palliative Care: Finance

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent on palliative care in each year since 2005-06.

Paul Burstow: This information is not collected centrally. The Department has conducted a special exercise to collect information on new investment in end of life care in 2009-10 and 2010-11 and on expenditure on specialist palliative care in 2006-07 and 2010-11. The 2006-07 and 2009-10 data has been published on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_086270.pdf
	and
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_118810
	respectively, and the data for 2010-11 will be published when the exercise is complete.

Biometrics

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to assess the effectiveness of the introduction of facial recognition equipment for border security and integrity; and what timescale she has set for such an assessment.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency has completed an evaluation of facial recognition and this confirmed that the technology operates securely and to an acceptable performance level. The performance of the technology will be assessed regularly to ensure it continues to operate securely and effectively. Forecasts indicate that over 11 million passengers per year are expected to use automated border crossings by 2013-04.

Departmental Redundancy

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much (a) her Department and (b) each non-departmental body for which she is responsible has spent on redundancies since May 2010.

Damian Green: The following table has been provided using Office for National Statistics guidelines for workforce management reporting.
	The changes to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS) in December 2010 obliged Departments to offer "voluntary redundancy" on terms equivalent to "voluntary exit" under the compensation scheme before it can issue notice of compulsory redundancy to any member of staff. The costs in the table relate to staff who have accepted compulsory redundancy terms only, as our HR and finance systems record as a separate category those leaving on that basis, but cannot differentiate between staff who leave on "voluntary exit" terms and those who have accepted "voluntary redundancy" under the compensation scheme.
	
		
			 Table 1: How much has been spent on redundancies in (a) her Department and (b) each non-departmental body for which she is responsible for since May 2010 
			  Cost (£) 
			 (a) Her Department  
			 Home Office and the Executive Agencies (1)— 
			   
			 (b) Non-departmental bodies  
			 Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) (1)— 
			 Independent Police Complaints Commissioner (IPCC) 989,000 
			 Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) (1)— 
			 National Policing Improvements Agency (NPIA) 421,000 
			 Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) (1)— 
			 Security Industry Authority (SIA) (1)— 
		
	
	
		
			 Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) (1)— 
			 (1 )Not applicable. Notes:1. Extract date 30 June 2011. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand pound. Source: Individual finance departments for each area.

Immigration Controls: Channel Tunnel Railway Line

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of employing immigration and customs staff at (a) Ebbsfleet International station and (b) Ashford International station in (i) 2009-2010 and (ii) 2010-2011.

Damian Green: Ebbsfleet, Ashford and Stratford International stations are covered on a mobile risk led basis resourced from St Pancras. St Pancras is specific to Eurostar train operations from Brussels and Paris, and the United Kingdom Border Agency incurred the following pay costs for the years stated.
	(i) 2009-10 £1.3 million; and
	(ii) 2010-11 £1.7 million
	There has been an increase from two mobile teams in 2009-10 to three teams in 2010-11.

Police: Civilians

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many non-uniformed staff in each police authority area have been (a) made redundant, (b) required to reapply for their position and (c) asked to retrain for posts formerly undertaken by uniformed officers in the last 12 months;
	(2)  what the cost of redundancies was in each police authority area in 2010-11; and what estimate she has made of the likely costs in 2011-12;
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the cost of managing changes to contracts of non-uniformed staff in respect of (a) redeployment, (b) retraining, (c) interviewing and (d) redundancy in each police authority area.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 18 July 2011
	The management of policing resources—including the numbers of police staff employed and the associated costs—is a matter for individual chief constables and their police authorities.
	Information on the number of dismissals and voluntary resignations of police staff (excluding police community support officers and designated officers) by police force area as at 31 March 2010 is set out in the table. Compulsory redundancies are contained within dismissals and voluntary redundancies are contained within voluntary resignations. The Home Office does not collect figures specifically for the number of non-uniformed staff in each police authority area that are required to reapply for their position and have been asked to retrain for posts formerly undertaken by uniformed officers.
	Information on the costs of managing changes to contracts for non-uniformed staff, or redundancy costs is not collected centrally. Redundancy (and other) costs are included within the CIPFA Police Service Statistics publication, available via:
	www.cipfastats.net
	although police forces do not report this information separately from some other areas of expenditure. No estimate of any future costs of redundancies in each police authority area has been made centrally, since this is a matter for individual chief constables and their police authorities.
	
		
			 N  umber of dismissals and voluntary resignations of police staff (excluding police community support officers and designated officers), by police force area, as at 31 March 2010  (1) 
			  Police staff 
			  Dismissals Voluntary resignations 
			 Avon and Somerset 7 93 
			 Bedfordshire 12 34 
			 Cambridgeshire 6 90 
			 Cheshire 5 74 
			 Cleveland 3 29 
			 Cumbria 21 19 
			 Derbyshire 6 83 
			 Devon and Cornwall 6 71 
			 Dorset 0 38 
			 Durham 4 36 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 28 
			 Essex 14 112 
			 Gloucestershire 2 22 
			 Greater Manchester 7 169 
			 Gwent 1 31 
			 Hampshire 7 113 
			 Hertfordshire 28 65 
			 Humberside 8 51 
			 Kent 12 146 
			 Lancashire 18 55 
			 Leicestershire 8 79 
			 Lincolnshire 2 54 
			 London, City of 0 16 
			 Merseyside 5 72 
			 Metropolitan Police 38 309 
			 Norfolk 32 49 
			 Northamptonshire 12 67 
			 Northumbria 4 96 
			 North Wales 5 13 
			 North Yorkshire 14 81 
			 Nottinghamshire 15 59 
			 South Wales 4 55 
		
	
	
		
			 South Yorkshire 1 54 
			 Staffordshire 49 32 
			 Suffolk 4 41 
			 Surrey 56 158 
			 Sussex 2 127 
			 Thames Valley 26 179 
			 Warwickshire 0 11 
			 West Mercia 6 91 
			 West Midlands 6 133 
			 West Yorkshire 23 96 
			 Wiltshire 3 60 
			 Total 478 3,288 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.

Police: Health

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will introduce an annual basic fitness test for police officers.

James Brokenshire: Tom Winsor has indicated he will be looking at fitness testing for police officers in part 2 of his Independent Review of Police Officer and Staff Remuneration and Conditions. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), will consider his recommendation when he presents this in January 2012.

Departmental Advertising

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has considered advertising his Department's business growth initiatives on documentation issued by HM Revenue and Customs.

Mark Prisk: The Government published their Plan for Growth, alongside Budget 2011, which can be found at:
	www.bis.gov.uk/growth
	and is focused on implementation of the commitments.
	Much of Government, including HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), increasingly provides information and services online, and less through more costly paper-based communication. Communication of Government's activity to support growth is being undertaken through a range of approaches, including: engaging directly with businesses and indirectly, using business representative bodies; through websites including www.bis.Gov.uk/growth; through Government's delivery partners such as HMRC; and through press releases, for example of open consultations on proposed legislation.

Further Education: Pay

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has provided guidance to further education colleges on pay restraint for (a) employees and (b) executives.

John Hayes: holding answer 13 July 2011
	The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable) and I wrote to vice chancellors and principals on 26 May last year concerning the Government's plans to rebuild the economy and build sustainable growth. In this letter we said:
	“We are expecting BIS and all its Non Departmental Public Body (NDPB) and Agency partner organisations to apply restraint to all aspects of pay and bonuses with a lead being given by senior staff”.
	The full letter is available on the BIS website:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/corporate/docs/c/cable-and-willetts-to-vice-chancellors-and-principals.pdf
	However, the Government are not the employer of FE staff and cannot intervene in decisions made by colleges with respect to them. Colleges are self-governing, independent institutions and, as such, they are responsible for their own terms and conditions, including pay and workforce modelling. It is therefore a matter for each FE college principal and governing body to decide how best to maintain the delivery of high-quality provision to their learners at a time of budgetary pressure.

Retail Trade: Children

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress he has made in developing a retail code of practice on retailing to children; what recent discussions he has had with the British Retail Consortium on this issue; what the outcome of these discussions was; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The report to Government from Reg Bailey, ‘Letting Children be Children’, on the sexualisation and commercialisation of childhood published on 6 June 2011, recommended that retailers, alongside their trade associations, should develop and comply with a voluntary code of good practice for all aspects of retailing to children and that the British Retail Consortium (BRC) should continue its work in this area as a matter of urgency and encourage non-BRC members to sign up to its code.
	The Government welcome the report, which is consistent with their principles of better regulation that encourage voluntary action by business as an alternative to Government intervention. The BRC has already published a new set of guidelines on the responsible retailing of children's clothes. We consider this to be an excellent example of how industry can respond positively to public feeling.
	BIS Ministers have had no recent discussion with the BRC on this issue. The Government will, however, be proactive in monitoring progress by businesses and industry to implement the Bailey report recommendations, commencing with a roundtable on 27 June 2011, chaired by the Minister of State for Children and Families, Department for Education, the hon. Member for Brent Central (Sarah Teather).

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings took place between Ministers in his Department and Ministers in the Department for Transport to discuss the bids for the Thameslink Rolling Stock Project between May 2010 and June 2011.

Edward Davey: Ministers are not allowed to discuss the details of individual bids for contracts before they are awarded. The Invitation to Tender produced in 2008 specified the evaluation criteria by which bids for the Thameslink contract would be judged.
	The Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), have jointly written to the Prime Minister outlining our plan for the Growth Review to fully explore the opportunity to take a more strategic approach to major public procurement.

Afghanistan: Artists

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many official war artists have been attached to military units based in Afghanistan since 2003.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 18 July 2011
	The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Attachments of war artists to units deploying to Afghanistan are approved alongside media and similar personnel and it is not possible to differentiate between them in our records.

Armed Forces: Casualties

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on arrangements for the repatriation of deceased servicemen and women via Brize Norton; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence has received in the region of 200 pieces of correspondence from members of the public and Parliament about the arrangements for the repatriation of fallen service personnel.
	The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), announced on 16 March 2011, Official Report, column 11WS, that repatriation ceremonies would move to RAF Brize Norton and in anticipation of this, the RAF has taken great care in planning and building the facilities at the base. A new £3 million repatriation facility has been deliberately sited on the south side of the airfield, to give families the best possible view of the aircraft on approach and landing while bringing their loved ones home. I have visited RAF Brize Norton to assure myself that the plans are appropriate and fitting for the families, who remain our priority. A gate near to the Repatriation Centre is also being refurbished and renamed as 'Britannia Gate' and is to be dedicated for the use of repatriating fallen service personnel.
	Oxfordshire county council, in determining the route to be taken from the base with Thames Valley police, has also carefully considered the needs of the families and members of the public and is constructing a memorial garden along Norton Way, as well as providing parking facilities. These new arrangements will give members of the public the opportunity to pay their own personal tribute as they have done in the past.

Libya: Armed Conflict

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel at each rank in each service have been operating within the landmass, airspace and territorial waters of Libya consistent with eligibility for the operational allowance since 18 March 2011; and how many are operating within that space at present.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 19 July 2011
	The breakdown of service personnel eligible for the ELLAMY operational allowance since 18 March is not held in the format requested. The breakdown by individual service is being withheld as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed services. The tri-service breakdown by rank as at 15 July 2011 is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Tri-service equivalent ranks Total 
			 Officers   
			 OF4 Commander / Lieutenant Colonel / Wing Commander 4 
			 OF3 Lieutenant Commander / Major / Squadron Leader 8 
			 OF2 Lieutenant / Captain / Flight Lieutenant 33 
			    
			 Other ranks   
			 OR7 Chief Petty Officer / Staff Sergeant / Flight Sergeant / Chief Technician 1 
			 OR6 Petty Officer /Sergeant / Sergeant 2 
			 OR4 Leading Rate / Corporal / Corporal 1 
			 OR2 Able Seaman 1st Class / Private (Classes 1-3) / Junior Technician / Senior Aircraftman 3 
		
	
	The numbers can vary, for example, as naval units move into and out of Libyan territorial waters.

Libya: Armed Conflict

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost has been of extending eligibility for the operational allowance to service personnel operating within the landmass, airspace and territorial waters of Libya.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 19 July 2011
	It will not be possible to answer this question definitively until after the operation is complete as the numbers of personnel involved in Op ELLAMY may vary considerably day to day. The extension of the operational allowance (OA) to personnel on Op ELLAMY, based on the OA rate of £29.02 per day, is estimated to cost in the region of £90,000 per month per hundred qualifying personnel.

Piracy

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his French and Italian counterparts on the deployment of military personnel on commercial shipping transiting through the Horn of Africa; and whether he has any plans to deploy British military personnel on British commercial shipping.

Nick Harvey: The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox) holds regular discussions with his French and Italian counterparts on a number of Defence issues, including counter-piracy. No specific discussions have taken place on the topic of military vessel protection detachments. We do not intend routinely to deploy British military personnel on British commercial shipping.

Sri Lanka: War Crimes

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he had discussions in an official capacity on (a) defence industry sales and (b) war crimes allegations concerning the Sri Lankan army during his visit to Sri Lanka in July 2011.

Liam Fox: holding answer 18 July 2011
	The United Kingdom has consistently called for an independent and credible investigation to address allegations of war crimes committed by both sides during in the conflict. During my visit I emphasised that the Sri Lankan Government should engage constructively with the UN Panel report's recommendations and through their own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee initiate credible action to address the concerns including those highlighted by the UN. Defence exports were not a topic of discussion during the visit.